Ink in her Hair
by SandCrystal
Summary: Ino has had a hard time moving on after the war. Everything she held dear to her has slowly been prised away from her grasp. Except for one man with ink stained hands who said she was beautiful.


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kinomoto does. I really wish he'd give Ino and Sai some more screen time :-)

 **Ink in her Hair**

The first time they met, it was springtime in Konoha.

He smiled at her and called her beautiful. She would never forget the way her heart fluttered. The flowers were in full bloom, especially the cosmos, her family was safe and she had almost forgotten about Sasuke. Back then, Sakura was still her best friend, and Asuma sensei was still alive; Shikamaru was still around, and Choji still loved the barbecue dinners.

It was now almost six years, since that day.

Here she was, on a cold winter morning, opening the flower shop. Weak sunlight streaming in through the parted curtains, did little to warm her. She wrapped a shawl around her shoulders, and shivered slightly. The last few years had been very rough.

No one had called her beautiful, and she doubted she was anymore. The war had destroyed a large part of her garden, and no matter how much she tried, the cosmos never bloomed like they used to.

Her father had passed away six years ago, his death taking a large part of her soul away with him. Whatever remained of her heart was gone when her mother succumbed to sadness and illness.

She could not forget Sasuke. She hated him too much; for destroying every image she had of him, hated him for taking her best friend away from her, hated him for betraying Konoha, hated him for never caring.

Asuma sensei was long gone, and if her emotions had a voice, she was sure it would sound eerily like deafening silence. Shikamaru was in Suna, in love with Temari, working hard to restore Konoha to its past grandeur. She missed him, missed him so much that it hurt, but she understood why they were never meant to be.

She understood why Choji hated barbeques now, every bite a painful reminder of the past. She loved them both too much to let them know, that she was slowly fading away.

A silhouette appeared in front of the shop. Ino turned towards the door in anticipation of the first customer in days.

"Beauty?" asked a familiar voice.

She stared, and stared. He was bloodied from head to toe, nasty gashes visible on his pale skin. His hair was matted with dried blood, like paint on black ink. He shook unsteadily on his feet, lightheaded from his injuries.

"Sai!" she said running up to him, ripping at the torn clothing. She had him bare-chested and sitting on the ground, back pressed to the wall, as she tried to heal him.

"Beauty," he said throatily. He hadn't had anything to eat or drink in days. "The mission is over. Konoha is...you... are safe now."

Ino's breath hitched in her throat as her eyes met his own. He hadn't gone to the hospital, he wanted to see her, her before he-Ino could not complete the thought. The raven coloured hair fell over his face and it was she could do not to hold him close and whisper to him that everything would be okay. He wasnt going to die like this. Not when there was so much to live for.

"It will be alright Sai, I'll heal you." said Ino desperately infusing chakra into the deepest wound.

She gasped as she realized how drained he was. He had almost no chakra left. She did her best, her own strength draining from her body into his. She knew that she was bringing him back from the brink of death. A sob escaped her lips as she chastised herself for not hiding her emotions.

"Don't cry for me Beauty. You are so beautiful." said Sai slowly, locking his tired eyes with her own wet ones. "We will meet again someday I'm sure."

He stilled ever so slightly in her arms as she tried to fix him. She hadn't used her medic skills in such a long time, but she hadn't forgotten how.

"Sai, please, please don't die on me." she whispered as she infused all the chakra she had to save him.

"Don't leave me Sai." she said hoarsely against his chest. He was so quiet and so motionless, Ino felt as though her world had stopped. She kissed his forehead, stroking the pale skin of his face, begging him to come back. Her chakra flared as she infused the last remains of it into his body. She didn't care if she died of chakra depletion, if it saved him, it was completely worth it.

But it worked. It seemed like it did. She heard a faint heartbeat in his chest, and felt his sluggish breathing resume ever so slightly. Sighing with relief she finally fainted into his arms, giving way to exhaustion.

It was like spring when she awoke, the smell of fresh cosmos filling her nostrils. The sun was still dim, but she was warm. A reassuring hand gently stroked her head. She caught sight of dark ink on the long fingers as they weaved through her fair hair. She was lying down on her bed, the familiar smell of home drifting to her.

"Good morning Beauty." said Sai pleasantly, when she turned to face him. "I'm glad you are okay Beauty. It wouldn't do for me to be alive if you were gone."

"Sai," she said slowly holding his free hand as he touched her hair with the other one.

"Beauty," he whispered, leaning towards her.

"You came home." she said simply, sitting up and embracing him. When she released him, he saw a dazzling smile make its way to her lips.

Sai had lost his emotions long ago, but he knew that whatever he felt right now, watching her safe and smiling in his arms, was something he wanted to feel everyday.

"Will you stay?" asked the beautiful woman uncertainly. It wouldn't do for the one person since Shin to care about him to think that he would leave.

"Forever." he said firmly taking her hands into his own. Ino looked at him surprised. _Did he care, like she cared?_

"Now rest, Beauty. We have the rest of our lives to talk." _Maybe he did_.

She liked the thought of having ink in her hair.

 **A/N: Hi guys! This is my first fanfic ever. Leave me a review? Thanks and have a great day ahead!**

 **Cheers,**

 **Sandy**


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